Passage VI

Various chains were released from rest with their lower end touching a scale that measured the force, in newtons (N), of the chain on the scale pan (see Figure 1). A newton is the force required to accelerate a 1-kilogram mass at a rate of 1.0 m/sec². The mass of the chain, its total length (L), the momentary length of chain on the pan (x), as well as the momentary weight of the portion of the chain on the pan, were also measured. The results are shown in Table 1.

Figure 1 and Table 1 adapted from John R. Gordon and Raymond A. Serway, Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, 3rd edition. ©1990 by Saunders College Publishing.